Rent an amusing sf film made in 1953 called "The Magnetic Monster" and watch an airport official tell Richard Carlson "We can't search ALL the flights. This is Los Angeles International; we have over a dozen departures a day!"
There is another person with my first and last name (different middle) born in the same state as me on the same day
Just the name is all it takes. I've been getting phone calls from a bank for over a year looking for a guy with the same first & last name who's delinquent on a mortgage. They go something like this:
Mr. x? Yes. This is Mongo Bank. May I have the last four digits of your SSN? No. Would you like me to give you a phone number to call back? Why? So you can get the information I have for you. What information? I can't tell you that. So how do I know I want to talk to you? Ummm...
The conversation goes in various directions from there, but sooner or later they blurt out private information about their target. I now know his full name, DOB, occupation, address, and how long it's been since he's made a mortgage payment...
...after the guy responsible for the first pilot-error accident?
Exceeded the rated service ceiling of his aircraft, inducing a thermal environment that caused primary structural debonding, and left a parabolic trail of wax, feathers and Greek obscenities into the Sea of Crete...
Yes, the 3-body alignment occurs every two weeks...but it does not coincide with a lunar perigee every two weeks.
Yes, the full moon and any other moon have the same mass -- but only the full and new moons are in alignment to maximize the combination of solar and lunar tides.
And a perigee moon and an apogee moon have the same mass -- but not the same distance, and there's this little Newton gravitation thing that makes the moon gravity inversely proportional to the square of that distance.
Thus the coincidence of full moon and lunar perigee gives the greatest possible tidal effect. The 5% figure in your Discover link is the difference between full moon at lunar perigee and a typical full moon.
Yes, the moon reaches perigee once a month (well, actually 29.5 solar days). But it does not always do this when it is FULL. The lunar-phase cycle and the lunar-distance cycle are slightly different, so the two coincide much less often.
Furthermore, the moon is not the only thing that makes tides: the sun does it too. Solar tides are about half as big as lunar tides because the sun is much farther away. When the moon is either new or full, the sun, earth and moon form a straight line and we get the highest (and lowest) tides: the effects of the sun and moon add up.
Now if the moon is at apogee when it's full, the lunar tide is a little stronger than at any other time, so all three of these influences add up and you get the maximum possible tidal effect.
This is not to say the "supermoon" caused the quake -- there are plenty of factors saying it didn't -- but "The moon gets closer once a month...no correlation" only rates a D as compared to Bill O'Reilly's F.
Yes, and the reason is that most of the heat delivered by the sun goes into heating the ground, which heats the air next to it by conduction. Some solar energy gets absorbed by the atmosphere as it passes through, but not much.
When the ground is covered in snow, most of that solar energy gets reflected right back into space and fails to heat the ground.
A flame thrower would indeed melt snow, but at great expense. You're transferring heat across a large temperature differential, which is one of the classic ways to throw away energy: it creates lots of entropy, little USEFUL heat addition. You do melt some snow -- and then you spend loads of energy turning that liquid water into steam, as well as heating the surrounding air which immediately rises away from the ground because it's buoyant.
You're better off to use something just a LITTLE warmer than snow -- you transfer heat across a small temperature differential and come much closer to a thermodynamically reversible process. Some steam locomotives used to be fitted with multiple steam jets on the front that could be used to clear tracks by a combination of blowing and melting.
Back in 1967, the International Committee for Weights and Measures recalibrated the isotope ratios for "Standard Mean Ocean Water", which is supposed to represent worldwide average values in the oceans. They named the new standard "Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water", and redefined the Kelvin temperature scale based on its triple point.
OK..."Fundamentals of Astrodynamics" by Bate, Mueller & White, commonly known as "BMW".
Another way of putting my original comment is: It is impossible to achieve a closed orbit whose low point (perigee) is higher than the point at which thrust terminates -- which rules out a gun on the surface. Point the gun any way you like...doesn't matter.
No it doesn't. You MUST apply thrust AFTER you reach a suitable altitude in order to get an orbit. There is no way to achieve an orbit purely by firing a gun from the surface, no matter how much velocity it produces. The projectile will either come back down and hit the ground, or fly away and never come back. That means your projectile has to carry a propulsion and guidance system that will survive the humungous acceleration coming out of the gun.
Earth rotation does reduce the total energy you have to apply, which is why most satellite launches are eastward, but it can't eliminate the need for an injection burn.
Slashdot Mirror
Rent an amusing sf film made in 1953 called "The Magnetic Monster" and watch an airport official tell Richard Carlson "We can't search ALL the flights. This is Los Angeles International; we have over a dozen departures a day!"
rj
There is another person with my first and last name (different middle) born in the same state as me on the same day
Just the name is all it takes. I've been getting phone calls from a bank for over a year looking for a guy with the same first & last name who's delinquent on a mortgage. They go something like this:
Mr. x?
Yes.
This is Mongo Bank. May I have the last four digits of your SSN?
No.
Would you like me to give you a phone number to call back?
Why?
So you can get the information I have for you.
What information?
I can't tell you that.
So how do I know I want to talk to you?
Ummm...
The conversation goes in various directions from there, but sooner or later they blurt out private information about their target. I now know his full name, DOB, occupation, address, and how long it's been since he's made a mortgage payment...
rj
...she was speaking out against enhanced interrogation. She was relating how Revere spilled the beans when they stuck a gun in his face, poor man.
rj
...after the guy responsible for the first pilot-error accident?
Exceeded the rated service ceiling of his aircraft, inducing a thermal environment that caused primary structural debonding, and left a parabolic trail of wax, feathers and Greek obscenities into the Sea of Crete...
rj
...nobody in the media has noticed that Osama chose to hide out in a city named after a British colonial overlord.
rj
Yes, your right in you're analysis...
So, how many meters are equal to 29 feet in the US aerospace industry?
rj
Yes, the 3-body alignment occurs every two weeks...but it does not coincide with a lunar perigee every two weeks.
Yes, the full moon and any other moon have the same mass -- but only the full and new moons are in alignment to maximize the combination of solar and lunar tides.
And a perigee moon and an apogee moon have the same mass -- but not the same distance, and there's this little Newton gravitation thing that makes the moon gravity inversely proportional to the square of that distance.
Thus the coincidence of full moon and lunar perigee gives the greatest possible tidal effect. The 5% figure in your Discover link is the difference between full moon at lunar perigee and a typical full moon.
rj
Oopsie, perigee not apogee.
rj
Yes, the moon reaches perigee once a month (well, actually 29.5 solar days). But it does not always do this when it is FULL. The lunar-phase cycle and the lunar-distance cycle are slightly different, so the two coincide much less often.
Furthermore, the moon is not the only thing that makes tides: the sun does it too. Solar tides are about half as big as lunar tides because the sun is much farther away. When the moon is either new or full, the sun, earth and moon form a straight line and we get the highest (and lowest) tides: the effects of the sun and moon add up.
Now if the moon is at apogee when it's full, the lunar tide is a little stronger than at any other time, so all three of these influences add up and you get the maximum possible tidal effect.
This is not to say the "supermoon" caused the quake -- there are plenty of factors saying it didn't -- but "The moon gets closer once a month...no correlation" only rates a D as compared to Bill O'Reilly's F.
rj
The one in 2016 would be more precise.
rj
Cult: A small, unpopular religion.
Religion: A large, popular cult.
rj
Yes, and the reason is that most of the heat delivered by the sun goes into heating the ground, which heats the air next to it by conduction. Some solar energy gets absorbed by the atmosphere as it passes through, but not much.
When the ground is covered in snow, most of that solar energy gets reflected right back into space and fails to heat the ground.
A flame thrower would indeed melt snow, but at great expense. You're transferring heat across a large temperature differential, which is one of the classic ways to throw away energy: it creates lots of entropy, little USEFUL heat addition. You do melt some snow -- and then you spend loads of energy turning that liquid water into steam, as well as heating the surrounding air which immediately rises away from the ground because it's buoyant.
You're better off to use something just a LITTLE warmer than snow -- you transfer heat across a small temperature differential and come much closer to a thermodynamically reversible process. Some steam locomotives used to be fitted with multiple steam jets on the front that could be used to clear tracks by a combination of blowing and melting.
rj
I believe John Dvorak coined "killer app" when writing of Visicalc in PC Magazine, circa mid-80's.
rj
Indeed. And "literacy" is his version of "bodily fluids".
rj
Where did you check that out, Professor, Radio Shack? Here's an ad for an RC model that weighs 26 pounds:
http://secure.hobbyzone.com/hangar9/hangar9_main/hangar9_giantscale/HAN1050.html ...and here's an ad for its six-cubic-inch engine:
http://www.chiefaircraft.com/rcmsec/Models/Engines/DesertAircraft/DesertAircraft.html#da100
rj
Watching the footage, it appeared he stayed out of downtown Manhattan and stuck to the surrounding water front and buildings
rj
Back in 1967, the International Committee for Weights and Measures recalibrated the isotope ratios for "Standard Mean Ocean Water", which is supposed to represent worldwide average values in the oceans. They named the new standard "Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water", and redefined the Kelvin temperature scale based on its triple point.
rj
OK..."Fundamentals of Astrodynamics" by Bate, Mueller & White, commonly known as "BMW".
Another way of putting my original comment is: It is impossible to achieve a closed orbit whose low point (perigee) is higher than the point at which thrust terminates -- which rules out a gun on the surface. Point the gun any way you like...doesn't matter.
rj
I think that because I've put payloads in orbit and you haven't. If that isn't good enough for you, I can recommend a good text on orbital mechanics.
rj
No it doesn't. You MUST apply thrust AFTER you reach a suitable altitude in order to get an orbit. There is no way to achieve an orbit purely by firing a gun from the surface, no matter how much velocity it produces. The projectile will either come back down and hit the ground, or fly away and never come back. That means your projectile has to carry a propulsion and guidance system that will survive the humungous acceleration coming out of the gun.
Earth rotation does reduce the total energy you have to apply, which is why most satellite launches are eastward, but it can't eliminate the need for an injection burn.
rj
...these companies also have a guy who watches the copier to make sure you aren't copying your bowling league scores.
rj
Precisely what my last employer, a big defense contractor, has done since the Nineties. No more charades.
rj
The Here-Hold-My-Beer Channel.
rj
rj